Lockdown
by CALLEN37
Summary: An 'accident' leaves the team on lockdown in the mission for 3 days, emergency lighting and no contact with the outside world...will they survive! 1st in the 'There is no way you can write that' Challenge. Artwork by @MeleenaCollins
1. Chapter 1

_**LOCKDOWN!**_

"Are you sure we're alone?" Nell asked as Eric walked into Ops. Everything he needed in his arms.

"There is no case, Hetty went home an hour ago, I haven't seen anyone for the whole time I was downstairs." Eric replied.

"But what if we get caught?" Nell said looking out of the slats that formed the windows to ops, seeing nothing.

Eric put the supplies on the table, "Look you said you wanted to try this, it'll be fine, no one will find out, I do this here all the time." He smiled encouragingly, as he lay back on the blanket.

"What alone?" Nell asked shocked.

"Not all the time, sometimes alone, sometimes with others…now will you grab a control and come and sit down here." He patted a space on the blanket beside him on the floor in front of the big screen.

Nell looked worried, "I've never done this." She admitted.

Eric smiled, "I'll be gentle." He laughed patting the blanket beside him again.

Nell relaxed and joined him on the blanket the sound of their laughter filtering down the stairs as Sam, Deeks, Kensi and Callen walked out of the Armory closely followed by Hetty.

* * *

"That was a great display Hetty, Who would have thought those pointy knife things could be so versatile." Deeks said.

"Those are called Kunai, Mr. Deeks Not pointy knife things." Hetty corrected.

"Whatever they are still very cool." Deeks said looking at the others for support.

"Well I'm heading home now Michelle will kill me for being late back." Sam admitted.

"You didn't need to stay for this Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, "It wasn't mandatory training."

"No, I know but I couldn't resist when Deeks started calling your Kunai set little pointy knifes," Sam grinned evilly as Deeks shrank into the background.

"Really! Throw me to the wolves…Ouch that hurt." Deeks clutched his heart in mock pain.

The others laughed and went to grab their things.

"What was that?" Callen asked his hand reaching for his Sig as a loud clunking sound came from upstairs.

Just as they headed for the door a loud expletive came from upstairs and a loud clunking sound reverberated throughout the building.

"Run!" Callen just heard Nell's voice above the clunking sounds.

A loud klaxon sounded upstairs followed by a scream as Eric and Nell came running out of ops with a blanket scooped up holding all sorts of things in his hands as the doors to ops slammed shut.

* * *

"NO…No, No, No, No, NO!" Eric yelled banging his fists on the door.

"Mr. Beale?!" Hetty called.

"We got hacked." Eric snapped.

Nell stood there with the balled up blanket in her hands, noticing the look that Callen was shooting her and she shrugged.

"What happened?" Kensi asked as she jogged up the stairs followed by the others as they stood looking at the door that now had them all locked out of Ops and locked in the mission.

"Hackers made it through our firewall and started to get into the system before they were detected and we were put on lockdown." Eric said looking decidedly shifty.

"How?" Sam asked staring at him.

"They found an unsecured link and we tried to fight them off, but they just came at us…like Zombies." Eric said honestly.

They all looked at him, "It's a hacker term…Honest!" he squeaked. Nell looked at him with a small grin.

* * *

"Well, it seems we are on lockdown." Hetty told them

"What?!" Kensi asked, "We're locked in? It's dark everywhere," Kensi said, looking around as the darkness was replaced with emergency lighting. "So how long does this lockdown last?" she asked.

Hetty sighed, "It will last until Monday morning at least a code is needed in DC to unlock the facility, and this sort of lockdown was triggered inside this facility,"

"Have we been compromised?" Callen asked concerned, Sam mirrored his movement eyes darting around looking for any hidden dangers.

"I do not know," Hetty said.

"Can you get us out?" Sam asked.

Hetty shook her head, "Until Washington contacts us we are stuck here."

Callen walked over to Eric and Nell, "So, what were you up to in ops…together….with a blanket?" he asked.

"No…nothing…" Eric stammered as Nell shot him a look.

"So…" Deeks said breaking up the tension, "If we are here till Monday, how are we going to do this? I mean Hetty…are you sure there is no one we can call?"

"Have you tried your phone Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asked.

Deeks looked at his phone and shook his head.

He lifted his phone up and tried dialing, "A lockdown Mr. Deeks is just as the term described. Nothing in, nothing out."

Sam looked panicked, "Hetty, Michelle and the kids? They will worry."

Hetty walked over to him and patted his arm, "Do not worry, you all..." she stopped and looked at Callen, "Most of you have emergency contacts in the system, They were all sent an automated message that a lockdown is in effect and they you are uncontactable until further notice but that as of right now you are all safe."

Nell jumped as her phone vibrated.

"You have signal?" Deeks asked.

Nell looked at the message and shook her head, "No…it's the message Hetty was talking about." She said before she thought.

"Whose emergency contact are you?" Kensi asked interested.

* * *

Nell shook it off, "Will Director Vance be contacted?" she asked.

"He will have been contacted as soon as the messages went out." Hetty told them.

Deeks grinned, "So there's a chance that a team is on the way now to get us out?!" he said hopefully. "Hey Eric, we may still be able to hit the surf on Sunday." He laughed with nervous relief.

"I hope so." Eric said.

"Well, We should make ourselves comfortable, you could all use this time to catch up with your paperwork." Hetty suggested.

"But It's dark…and late!" Kensi moaned.

"Very well, Miss Blye, you and Miss Jones can you and find some bedding supplies in the supply cupboard and find some spots for you all to bed down."

"I'm covered Hetty." Callen smiled.

"I know, Maybe Mr. Callen you could share some supplies from your room?" she suggested.

"Hetty!" Callen exclaimed, the empty office at the back of the mission Callen had turned into his own personal room, although allowed by Hetty was until that moment still a secret from the rest of the team. "Come on Sam." He sighed.

"Secret room G?" Sam asked.

"Shut up Sam." Callen groused walking along the corridor past the gym to a room behind the maintenance room, it said. Janitors closet on the outside and had a large padlock on it. Callen took a key out and unlocked it.

"Whoa! G!...We have to sleep in here!" Sam said as he looked around at the huge bed, big throw pillows, and a large bookcase with a big comfy chair and a large standard lamp in the corner. A few photos were hung on the wall and the large room was more homely than his house.

"NO." Callen snapped, "Hetty can sleep in here. You can take pillows, food from the fridge, beer and a book if you're bored. NO ONE but Hetty, comes in here." He insisted.

He looked over the room and grabbed a few things, the last thing being a pink cardigan off the back of the chair.

Sam picked a book as Callen grabbed the one he'd been reading.

"Pink?" Sam said eyeing the article of clothing Callen picked up.

Callen shrugged, nonchalantly. "Some of us can just pull it off." He said, "Don't forget the beer," he said and turned with an armful of supplies and left.

Sam took a second to look around the room, Callen truly had a flair for decorating, but none of this was in his home. He looked carefully at the pictures on the wall, unguarded shots of the team taken off security footage. Even a few of Callen himself.

"SAM!" Callen called from outside the room.

"I'm coming," Sam said his arms full of food and beer following behind him.

Callen locked the door and put the key back in his pocket.

"G?" Sam said looking at him, "Why won't you let us all stay in there?"

Callen looked at him, "Mine." He said softly and walked down the corridor.

He walked over to the desks in the bullpen and dropped the snacks and pillows on the desk. Picking the cardigan up, he handed it to Nell, "Here." He said softly.

She smiled, "Thanks I've been looking for that." She grabbed a beer from Sam who shot Callen a look at the cardigan.

Callen walked over to Hetty who sat at her desk drinking a cup of tea, "Why did you do it Hetty?" he asked quietly.

"It's going to be a long three days Mr. Callen and I know you have books in there, it might stop your teammates from getting…cranky."

"But Hetty! It's mine…the whole point was…Urgh!" He exclaimed and turned to walk away.

"Mr. Callen, the whole point is that we all have to make the best of a bad situation." Hetty placated him.

Slumped into the comfy chair he glared at the woman who handed him a cup of tea. "I don't know what caused this lockdown yet Mr. Callen, I know that this is hard on you, it is hard on us all. But maybe you and your team will bond through shared hardship." She said wisely.

Callen laughed, "What hardship? You're getting my room…They know about my room and we have to spend the whole weekend together. What about this is hard for you?" he asked.

"I've run out of my favorite tea." Hetty said her face neutral.

"Oh Bugger." Callen said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Callen got up and looked worriedly towards the cupboard "Are you sure…" he got up and started opening doors, "But…you always have extra!" he looked panicked.

"Mr. Callen…it is only tea…?" Hetty said calmly. "I will admit it is a calming blend, Valerian Root tea does taste nice, but I do have others…" she stopped as he started pulling stuff out of her bottom cupboard where she used to keep her tea. "Mr. Callen?!"

"No….you can't be out of it, I replaced it…Damn!" He stood up and paced. He had meant to replace the box that morning but Sam picked him up for work.

The others in the bullpen looked up at the commotion as Callen ran from Hetty's office down the corridor, past the gym and pulled his keys out.

"There has to be some in here." He said to himself as he opened the door to his room.

He ran to the cupboard on the wall and opened the tea caddy there…"No?!" he yelled throwing the empty box to the floor.

"Mr. Callen…" Hetty stood at the door as the team stood behind her.

"Whoa! Callen…!" Deeks said looking around the room amazed at the coziness of the room he had always assumed just held mops, buckets and brooms.

Callen turned and looked at them, "No…you don't get to come in here…out!" he ordered, he sank into the large armchair with his head in his hands.

"Callen?" Hetty asked walking across the room. "How many cups of that tea do you drink?" she asked.

"I…" Callen looked pleading up at Hetty, "not many …7 or 8…" he admitted.

"Seven or eight cups a week!" Hetty exclaimed in horror the recommended amount was 2 cups a week.

"A day." Callen admitted, "I need it Hetty…" He stood up looking around, ignoring the shocked looks of his team, "We need to find a way out…I…I can't…" he sank back down in the chair.

"Callen, why so much?" Hetty asked.

"It helps." He sighed. Hetty waved the others away as Callen sat in his favorite chair.

Sam stayed behind and waited, "It will be alright Mr. Hanna, I will look after Mr. Callen. Would you go and get the others settled for the night, and see if you can get Mr. Beale to explain what he was up to in OPS before this incident occurred." She ordered.

* * *

Sam nodded and left following after Kensi who was pushing Deeks down the hall, "But did you see that room!" Deeks said, "How come we don't have a room like that. I could use a room like that…." Deeks turned to Kensi with a cheeky grin, "We could use a room like that, little candles, some romantic music…." He yelped as Kensi punched him in the arm.

Hetty walked over to Callen, "They are gone, talk to me moy syn." She asked quietly.

"I…I'm still a good agent…" Callen said softly, "Am I still a good agent?" he asked.

Hetty pulled her chair up next to him, "You are still my team leader and in my opinion, a good agent; are you questioning yourself?" she asked.

"I…I've had a few…panic attacks, I had them as a child. I remember the doctor telling one of my foster parents I would grow out of them. I did. But…recently…I failed them, they were hurt, Sam and Deeks…I am their team leader, I should have protected them. I keep dreaming about them being hurt and I couldn't protect it."

"It?" Hetty asked.

"The team, the group…my…my family…I keep making mistakes, people keep getting hurt, I don't know what to do momma." He bent his head down as Hetty pulled him into her arms.

"Use this time, moy syn. Reconnect with your team…let them in, you never know it could be good for you." She advised.

He sighed and sat back, "I could use a cup of tea,"

Hetty smiled, "Me too."

* * *

Deeks slumped back in his chair and looked at the sleeping bag Kensi had deposited on his desk.

"Awww…Kens, do we really have to sleep in these things, can't we all bunk down in Callen's room?" he asked.

Sam shook his head as he walked in, "Nope that's Callen's space and he's allocated it to Hetty." He grabbed a sleeping bag and rolled it out.

"Why don't we have a room like that?" Deeks asked, "I mean, we all work late and could use somewhere to crash…How come Callen gets it?"

Sam looked at him, "Deeks…" he said, he wanted to growl at him and tell him to back off, but things had changed between them and he knew that Deeks came onto the team after Callen had brought his house.

"Deeks, for years Callen worked here but was homeless, he lived out of his bag and in motels, and it wasn't until just around the time you joined the team that Callen got his first house, he would sleep here a lot, mostly on the couch. However it wasn't good for his work, he would be tired and his work would suffer so Hetty must have insisted he had a room here, somewhere safe, I don't know the exact reason but I think that's it." He said.

"That's not it." Callen said, he walked in as if nothing had happened, pulling out his bedroll and laying it behind his desk.

Deeks sat on his desk as the others moved around.

"Ooh…Story!" Eric said.

* * *

Callen laughed as they sat on the edges of their desks.

"As you know I've never really had a home." Callen told them and they nodded. "Well when I came here and joined this team, I found I wanted to stay, I didn't have anywhere to live and would move from motel to motel, I crashed on the couch in the bullpen sometimes, but I still didn't have anywhere to call my home, I didn't have possessions apart from what I could carry. Then one day Hetty showed me the spare Janitor's closet." Callen looked up with a smile as Hetty walked in.

"And you made yourself a room there?" Kensi asked.

"No, I made myself a home there. Something that for once was mine and permanent, that was always going to be there for as long as I was a part of the team." Callen said.

Nell smiled at him, encouraging him to go on.

"I found here something I didn't think I would ever have, a family." Callen said moving his hand to rest on Nell's shoulder.

"Aww." Eric said, "That's sweet Callen."

Callen glared at him, "Sweet?"

"Er. Nice?" he corrected.

Callen smirked, "Yeah, Anyway it's warmer in there than out here, so Hetty and the girls can take my room," he turned to Nell, "You still know where everything is?" he asked.

Nell nodded, "Yes thanks, if you haven't moved anything." She said grabbing her sleeping bag. She saw the pink cardigan Callen had given her earlier and picked it up. "Hetty, G found your cardigan earlier," she handed it to the older woman.

"Ah thank you, I left it in your room the other night." Hetty admitted.

Callen smiled, "That's ok."

* * *

"So how do you know about the room?" Sam asked Nell.

Nell smiled, "I've been helping Callen." She replied.

He smiled saying nothing, as the girls gathered their things and walked off to Callen's room to settle down for the night.

Eric looked longingly up at ops as the boy's rolled out their bags from behind their desks.

Callen grinned, "Come on Zombie boy, you can roll yours out next to mine behind Kensi's desk."

Eric paled at the nickname, "Er…Ok…"

Sam put the battery lights on the desks, "Goodnight," He called.

"Night." Deeks' voice came from behind his desk.

Callen and Eric called Goodnight as well.

Soon there were the faint sounds of Deeks snoring and Sam's soft but even breathing.

Callen as usual was staring at the ceiling unable to sleep.

"Eric…What were you and Nell doing in Ops before the lockdown?" he asked quietly.

"Err….working?" Eric turned and looked at Callen.

"With a blanket?" Callen smirked at his friend.

"Like you've not wanted to work on a blanket." Eric grinned.

"E?" Callen lay back on his bedroll trying not to laugh.

Eric and Callen had a close friendship; they had had one for years, ever since Eric's parents had fostered Callen for a two week stint when Eric was six. It was a fact they kept to themselves, even though he was sure Hetty knew.

"X-box." Eric admitted. "Left for dead 2"

"Again…you know that gives Nell nightmares, you will never get her to play it." Callen laughed his voice soft and low.

"I got you to play it." He said, sounding affronted.

"You got me to play golf remember," Callen laughed.

"Yeah and you hit mom on the head with the ball." Eric reminded him.

"Why do you think I don't play anymore?" Callen sobered a bit.

"G…you are not dangerous." Eric chided him.

"I am no more dangerous than you are with that….Eric, did you hook it up online?" he asked a thought coming to him.

Eric sat up and hugged his knees, "Er. Yeah"

Callen lay back "Jeez Eric! Hetty is going to rip you a new one." He lay back chuckling softly.

Eric was so dead in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

While Sam and Deeks slept, Eric was fighting sleep, wanting to enjoy his time left alive before Hetty found out what he had done.

Callen grinned in the dark watching him.

"It's gonna happen sooner or later E. I got your back, you know that," Callen whispered in the darkness.

"I know G, but I'm scared." Eric admitted.

"What's the worse she can do?" Callen surmised, "You are the backbone to this team, we can't function without you." He said trying to appease his friend.

"If she fires me?" Eric said the fear creeping into his voice.

"I'll have your back little brother, I brought you onto this team and I will always fight for you, you know that." Callen said solemnly.

Eric smiled, remembering the day Callen had told him all about NCIS and the position he was perfect for.

* * *

"E!" G had come running into Eric's apartment.

Eric as usual was passed out on the floor in front of his laptop after another all night session of Hacking; he had panicked at one point that night when he had actually crashed the entire internet.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" G yelled as he slammed down the laptop down and pulled the plug.

"I fixed it….?" Eric said sleepily.

"YOU BROKE THE INTERNET!" Callen yelled as Eric rubbed his eyes.

"Shh!" he yawned.

"My bosses saw and tracked it back to you."

Eric had sat up and crawled onto the couch, "I thought you left the CIA?" he asked confused.

"I did, I got hired by NCIS…you broke into the pentagon and broke the internet…in one night?"

"NCI…What?! And It was a bet, It wasn't serious…" Eric argued.

"There's a CIA analyst, tracked it back to you…some kid called Jones and she's good…but they know your better, they're gonna send me to bring you in Macy my boss is livid."

"You told him that you know me?" Eric asked.

"Her…and not exactly, I said I might be able to find you with my contacts, damn E, I'm breaking in a new partner, I have a bloody psychologist wanting me to spill my life story and you do this?!"

"G…I'm sorry; I didn't mean to…what is NCIS?"

Callen sighed and grabbed an unopened beer off the table, "It's Naval Criminal Investigative Services, I work for a new branch the office of special projects here in L.A."

"You staying this time?" Eric asked.

"I was thinking about it, till my crazy little foster brother broke the internet…" G growled.

"I was bored, Lucas bet me I couldn't get into the pentagon and then I saw the servers for the internet and couldn't help myself." He said.

"You need a job."

"Ha! You could see me in pants sitting in an office?" Eric laughed.

"I…maybe not in pants, but if I talked to Macy I'm sure I could talk her round into letting you work for her rather than go to prison."

"P…Prison...G….!" Eric stammered.

"Get a coat and get up, you're coming with me." G said putting his bottle back on the table.

"Are…are you arresting me?" Eric squeaked.

G grinned, "And get the back of your mom's wooden spoon, not a chance."

Eric followed him out the door.

* * *

Before long he was standing in Lara Macy's office in what had looked to Eric like an abandoned warehouse.

"G? What the hell is a civilian doing here?" Macy snapped.

"Lara Macy…meet Eric Beale, the guy that broke into the pentagon last night and broke the internet." He said with a grin as he sat on a chair.

"You brought him here?!" Macy said incredulously, "Why not the boatshed."

G shrugged, "He can't show you what a genius he is from the boatshed, or show you how much you need him."

Macy looked at Callen he was hiding something that much was certain.

"G how do you know you haven't just compromised this agency, Director Sheppard is going to throw a fit." She said shaking her head looking at the shy blond man in shorts.

"I trust him." Callen said.

Macy nearly broke her neck as her head moved so fast, "You…You what?!"

"I've known Eric since he was six, I know his family, He didn't mean to cause so much trouble, he is the best computer geek on the planet and we need him Mace."

"Ok, I trust your judgment on this G, let's take him to Ops and see what he can do." Macy said as she stood up.

Eric shook G a look and followed along behind him.

"Wow!" Eric breathed as he took in the tech in Ops.

Callen grinned, "Ok Eric I want you to find Agent Sam Hanna, he's in Los Angeles." He said with a grin.

Macy typed her password, "you can use this terminal." She said.

Eric nodded and sat down; within moments he had pulled up Sam's file. "Your facial recognition program is antiquated but I can update the protocols to include all available cameras' in Los Angeles…" he said looking at Macy for permission.

She looked stunned, "Go ahead."

It took Eric five minutes to write the protocol, "I got him he's at a Starbucks in the valley." He said pulling up a camera feed of Sam buying coffee.

Callen grinned and pulled out his cell phone.

"Sam…get an extra coffee, black 2 sugars before you leave." He said and hung up.

He laughed quietly at the look of confusion on Sam's face before he went and did as he was asked.

"How did you do that?" Macy asked.

Eric turned and told her about a new government system known as Kaleidoscope which was inbuilt into all road traffic cameras and most security camera's but was hardly ever used.

Macy listened rapt.

* * *

"You're right Callen, we need him." She said an hour later as she sat in her office and Callen lounged on the couch.

"So you ain't gonna arrest him?" Callen asked hopefully.

Macy shook her head, "With him on the team we may be able to make more arrests I talked to Director Sheppard, she wants me to get him to work right away, she has a project for him…looking for some arms dealer. You sure this Beale guy wants the job?" she asked.

Callen nodded, "It's this or prison right?"

Macy nodded, "Why do you want to keep him out of prison so badly?" she asked

Callen smiled, "I lived with his family when I was twelve, and E is like a little brother to me." He admitted.

"Director Shepard may not like that." Macy warned.

"Well don't tell her then, it's not the first secret you have kept." Callen said shooting her a look.

Macy nodded, "Ok, but no one must know." She warned.

She nodded to Eric who was outside and had lip read the entire conversation, a skill he was sure he wouldn't be revealing for a while.

"Ok Mr. Beale, we want to offer you a job," Macy said as Callen grinned.

More than anything he knew he had just saved his little brother from a fate worse than no internet…which to Eric was the same as a fate worse than death.

Eric smiled as he finally allowed sleep to claim him. He knew that come the morning G would have his back.

Callen sighed, the team was finally asleep and now he could relax.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hetty was the first to rise, although she had assumed and correctly as it happened that Callen hadn't slept a lot if at all the night before. She straightened herself up and walked into the small kitchen area to find some snack foods and a warm, fresh pot of tea.

She nodded a good morning towards Callen and Callen poured her a cup of tea, standing between her and the trash can, he handed her a cup.

"Ummm." She sighed drinking in the taste. "This is good, where did you find it? It's not Valerian root tea is it?"

Callen shook his head sadly, "I looked everywhere, but this is a blend you haven't tried before." He admitted with a small smirk, "Do you like it?" he asked.

"It is quite pleasing." She admitted smiling at him.

Callen sighed and moved, shooting a glance at the trash can and the empty tea bags that were inside, he had spent two hours emptying all the paper sacks and tipping them into an empty tea caddy just so that Hetty wouldn't taste the paper when she drank it.

He moved to the table and sat opposite from her.

"Eric needs to talk to you when he wakes up." Callen said quietly, looking at Deeks, Eric and Sam still asleep on the floor.

"It was him wasn't it?" Hetty asked quietly.

Callen nodded, "X-Box." He admitted.

Hetty sighed, "He's been told before, I hate to have to say it, but maybe, if he's putting the security of NCIS at risk, I may have to fire him."

"You can't." Callen said keeping his voice low. "His contract is tied to mine, if you fire him I'm leaving."

Hetty looked confused, "Really?"

"Eric is the best at what he does. Look Hetty we all have our thing, Kensi has doughnuts, Nell has her online scrapbooking, Sam has his SEAL training, which he still does, Deeks surfs, I have my…well you know, my search and Eric has his gaming, it's not just a game to him, he uses it to talk safely to other Hackers, finds out about security threats before they happen. Besides, he was waiting for me to give him a lift home and was trying to er…introduce Nell to some of his friends so she could get in with them too." Callen argued.

"So, Mr. Beale was intelligence gathering?" Hetty asked.

Callen relaxed a bit, "Yeah…yes he was."

Hetty gave him that I know your feeding me a load of Hogwash but it's not a bad excuse look.

Callen smiled back, "Go easy on him…he's…"

"I know Mr. Callen, I've seen your full file remember." She said cutting him off.

"You knew? And you never said?" he asked surprised.

"You kept your relationship with Mr. Beale out of the office, so I had no need." Hetty said.

* * *

They both stopped as Sam and Kensi both spit out their coffee. Neither Hetty nor Callen had noticed them as engrossed as they were in their conversation.

Eric, Deeks and Nell walked in as Sam and Kensi stared at first Callen then Eric in shock.

"Y…Your….You're GAY!" Kensi stammered.

"WHAT!?" Deeks, Eric and Nell said together.

"No?" Callen said, "Why would you say that?" he asked looking over at Eric.

"We heard Hetty; G…She said you and Eric were in a relationship!" Sam exclaimed.

"Me! With G! What…no way?! G?" Eric stammered as they looked at him.

"You never call Callen, G?" Deeks said accusingly.

Eric moved closer to Callen who moved unconsciously to protect him. "No…it's not like that at all…" Callen said defensively.

Hetty stood up, "Sit down all of you." She ordered. Callen and Eric sat one side of the table and the others moved to the other side to stare at them as Hetty took a seat at the end of the table.

"For a start, Homophobia is illegal and is actively discouraged especially here," She started, "But what I said was, Mr. Callen kept his relationship with Mr. Beale out of the office, I did not at any point say he was_** in**_ a relationship with Mr. Beale." She chastised them.

"But isn't that the same thing?" Kensi asked.

Callen sighed, "I have to tell them E." he said.

"Aww nicknames, how cute." Deeks grinned but stopped when Kensi punched him.

Callen glared at him. But Eric nodded.

"Eric was, for a while when I was a child, my foster brother, his parents were one of the nice ones I lived with and I still visit regularly. I got Eric the job here." He said.

"Really?" Nell said amazed.

Callen smiled, "Yeah, Eric was the first person I really trusted, his parents second. I knew if he told me you guys were ok I would feel safe enough to work here." He admitted. "We didn't tell anyone, well because…It wasn't important."

"So that's why you went nuts when G got shot; checking camera angles and looking for the slightest clue as to who had shot G." Sam said remembering that after G was shot Eric hadn't left Ops for a week.

"Yeah, my parents went spare, and I promised to find out who hurt my big brother." Eric admitted.

* * *

After a mumbled round of sorry from the team, Hetty turned her attention to Eric, "And Mr. Beale, I believe you have some apologizing to do also."

"Me?!" Eric squeaked as Nell nodded slightly.

"Actually Hetty, it's my fault too, I asked him to show me the game and my TV isn't big enough to play it on…." Nell said

"And I'm staying with G for a month, my apartment is being fumigated and redecorated, and he doesn't have a TV…" Eric butted in.

"So you decided to play your computer game in OPS." Hetty looked around at all of them and Nell and Eric flinched.

"Yes Hetty, but I was also introducing Nell to some Hacker friends who although underground have their ear on the pulse…it's like a heads up on cyber attacks before it even happens." Eric argued.

Hetty smiled, "So Mr. Callen informed me. However Mr. Beale…I feel that …"

"You can't fire me!" Eric shot out in a high pitched voice.

Hetty smiled, "So I've been told Mr. Beale, I was going to suggest if you need to do this again, not only do you run it by me, but you upgrade the firewalls to compensate. According to Mr. Callen, the world is much safer when you are on this side of the law."

Nell smiled, "He's not that good, you know when I was with the CIA…years ago, we had a guy that broke into the pentagon and then broke the internet, he was good, took us ages to pin him down then he disappeared." She told them.

Eric held up his hand as Sam and Kensi smirked.

"Er…That was me." He admitted.

"You?!" Nell looked shocked. "I spent months trying to find you." She looked mad.

"G got me a job here, so he wouldn't have to arrest me." Eric admitted.

Nell sat there as Deeks put a cup of tea under her nose, "I hear it's good for shock." He smiled.

Nell rolled her eyes but drank it anyway.

"So…" Callen said, looking at the team, "It's gonna be a long day, any ideas as to what we can do?" he grinned.

"Paperwork, Mr. Callen, you have more than enough." Hetty said grinning at the look of horror on Callen's face, he had put his paperwork off for months and his pile was bigger than everyone else's and now he was trapped with no way to escape from the paperwork.

He was doomed.


End file.
